Water skt tow line reel



Feb. 13, 1962 H. E. BENNETT 3,021,088

WATER SKI TOW LINE REEL Filed April 18, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 cu w I INVENTOR.

HARVEY E. BENNETT BY W+M ATTORN EYS Feb. 13, 1962 Filed April 18, 1960 FIG.3

H. E. BENNETT WATER SKI TOW LINE REEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HARVEY E. BENNETT BY M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,021,088 WATER SKI TOW LINE REEL Harvey E. Bennett, 11240 10th S., Seattle, Wash. Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 22,794 9 Claims. (Cl. 242-863) The present invention relates to an improved retrieving device for a water ski tow line.

It has been common practice in the water ski towing art to transfer the load from the tow line to the boat via a sheave working on a bridle which is mounted at the stern. The sheave travels back and forth on the bridle as the skier traverses the wake of the boat and thus smoothly shifts the tow load accordingly. This towing gear has heretofore had the disadvantage that the tow line was retrived to the boat by hand and often became tangled while being stored or played out.

The present invention aims to provide an improved reel apparatus of simple and economical construction which can be conveniently used with bridle-and-sheave tackle for storing, retrieving and playing out a water ski tow line.

Furthermore, the invention aims to provide such a reel which becomes completely free of the tow line when it is fully played out and yet can be easily set into operation to retrieve the tow line.

Still another object is to provide a retrieving device for water ski towlines which has a non-rotating reel and which is simple to mount in operative position on a boat.

The foregoing, with still additional objects and advantages of the invention, will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are back front elevational views, respectively, of my reel assembly shown with its winding mechanism in inactive position.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the device taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1, but with the winding mechanism shown in line retrieving position.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of the latch arrangement taken as indicated by line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating my invention in operation on a boat shown fragmentarily.

Referring to FIG. 5, a ski tow line is shown rigged in the conventional manner, and namely, tied to the eye of a swivel 11 which is carried by a pulley block 12 having its sheave 13 working on a bridle 14. This bridle has its ends secured near the ends of the transom 15 of a boat as by eye bolts 16.

The present invention provides a non-rotary reel 17 which has a post 18 depending therefrom to socket in a suitable fitting 20 secured to the boat. This post may be formed from a length of tubular stock having its upper end flattened at 1811 and shaped to conform with the 'arch of the concave rim 21 of the reel, 2. rivet connection being used. The reel may be fabricated from a pair of flared dish sections placed end to end with their bottom walls riveted together to define the hub 22 of the reel and their flared side walls forming the rim 21. A slot 23 is cut in the hub 22 starting with a center circle and continuing radially downward to the rim with the circle diameter. Directly above the slot at the front a bracket 24 is hinged at 25 to the rim 21 and follows generally the lateral contour of the reel to a bearing sleeve 26 which extends therethrough to fit into the slot 23 at the center of the reel when the bracket is swung down into active position as shown by the full line position thereof in FIG. 3. This bearing sleeve both slidably and turnably receives the shaft 27 of a winding assembly having a crank 28 at the forward end and a line guide 30 at the rear. To hold 3,521,588 Patented Feb. 13, 1962 this line guide the shaft 27 has an arm extension 31 forming an obtuse angle therewith and positioning the front of the line guide so as to just clear the back edge of the rim when the hub 32 of the crank 28 engages the forward end of the bearing sleeve 26.

The line guide 30 is designed to permit a line to be readily introduced thereto and removed therefrom laterally when it is not under tension. To this end the guide has a semi-cylindrical bottom section with upper finger extensions 30a-d at its ends giving a generally spiral path therebetween when viewed from above (FIG. 1). Thus a relaxed line can be looped beneath the tips of one of the finger extensions at each end and drawn around the tip of the other fingers so that it is free to thread through the guide. It can be seen that the line can be readily removed by the reverse procedure.

To hold the winding assembly in active position there is provided a latch 32 which is pivoted at 33 to swing in a keeper 34 over the lower end portion of the bracket 24 which surrounds the bearing sleeve 26. The latch is operated by an integral handle 35 which projects radially beyond the rim of the reel to provide a hand grip portion which can be held by one hand to keep the reel properly aimed while the other is being used to turn the crank 28.

. To retrieve a ski tow line 10 with my device the operator must first'reach overthe transom 15 and pull in a short section of the line. He then threads this through the guide 30 in the manner aforedescribed after the winding assembly has been latched in active position. With the line threaded through the guide the operator holds the portion of line between the guide and bridle 14 against the handle 35 with his left hand and starts to turn the crank 28 with his right (FIG. 5). As the crank turns the guide rotates around the reel thereby causing the line to wind thereabout. As indicated by the dotted position 35A in FIG. 3 the guide can be pulled forwardly over the rim of the reel while the crank is being turned merely by at the same time pulling the crank 28 so that the shaft 27 slides as well as turns in the bearing sleeve 26. By thus shifting the guide back and forth over the reel a level wind can be assured.

When it is desired to let out the tow line it must first be manually freed from the guide 35. Then, with the crank 28 directly overlying the bracket 24, the latch 32 is released by pushing up on the handle 35. The rear part of the shaft 27 and its arm extension 31 are then free to swing forwardly through the slot 23 to lower the guide 30 into the inactive position indicated as 3013 in FIG. 3 and also shown in FIGS. l-2. In this regard, the hinge 25 is preferably spring loaded to urge the winding mechanism forwardly toward its inactive position. When the skier is ready he grabs the free end of the tow line and it freely plays off the reel as the boat is driven away from him. As the last turn on the reel is reached the line frees from the reel and the entire load of the skier is taken by the bridle 14. The handle 35 is useful in keeping the axis of the reel alined with the tow line during both the playing out and retrieving operations.

It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of the illustrated now-preferred embodiment. Modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and I accordingly intend that no limitations are to be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

What I claim is:

1. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel adapted to be mounted on a boat, a bracket hinged to said reel and carrying a journal, said bracket being swingable to and from an active position whereat said journal is located at the center of the reel,

and line'winding means mounted in said journal for windinga line about the reelwhen saidbracket is insaidactive position.

2. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel adapted to be mounted on a boatand having an opening at the center which extends radially in at least one direction, a journal swingably mounted on said reel for movement to and from the center thereof, the swing axis of said journal being located diametrically op posite said one direction, and line winding means-mounted in said journal and swingable therewith into and out of line winding position.

3. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel having a depending post adapted to be socketed on a boat for pivoting the-reel about the post axis, a journal swingably mounted on said reel for movement to and from the center thereof, line winding'means' mounted in said journal for winding a line about the reelwhen said journal is at the center of the reel, and a handle for gripping the reel pivotally mounted on said reel and carrying a latch swingable with the handle into and out of journal locking position when said journalis at said center.

4. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel adapted to be mounted on aboat and having a center opening, a bracket hinged at one end of the reel and carrying a journal swingable with the bracketinto and out of said center opening, a shaft operatively mounted in said journal, a crank mounted on one end of said shaft and a line guide carried'by' the other end thereof and adapted to detachably receive a'line;

5. A reel assembly for a water-ski towline comprising,

a non-rotary reel having a depending post adapted to be socketed on a boat for pivoting the reel about the post axis, a journal swingably mounted on said reel formovemerit to and from the center thereof, and line winding means mounted in said journal for winding a line about the reel when said journal is at the center of the reel,

said'winding meansbeing-movable endwise in-saidjournal for giving a level wind to theline.

6. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel adaptedv tobe mounted on a boat and having a center opening, a bracket hinged at one end of the reel and carrying a journal swingable with the bracket into and out of said center opening, a shaft operatively mounted in said journal and having an extension at the other end of the reel extending toward the rim thereof, a line gmide mounted on said extension, and means for turning said shaft.

1 7; The structure of claim 6 in which said means for turning the shaft comprises a crank mounted thereon at said one end of the shaft.

8. The structure of claim 6 in which said shaft is movable endwise in said journal for responsively shifting said guide endwise to give a level wind.

9. A reel assembly for a water ski tow line comprising, a non-rotary reel having a depending post adapted to be socketed on a boat for pivoting the reel about the post axis, a journal swingably mounted on said reel for movement to and from the center thereof, a handle for gripping the reel pivotally mounted on said reel and carrying a latch" swingablewith. the handle into and out of journal locking position when said journal is at said center, a shaft in said journal, a crank mounted on one end of said shaft and a line guide carried by theother end thereof at the of said reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 339,256 Benedict Apr; 6, 1886 2,236,305 Ahlin Mar; 25, 1941 2,455,819 Smith Dec. 7, 1948 2,648,505 Mauborgne Aug. 11, 1953 syur* 

